(Credit:
creativeloafing.com)
As the relationship between the iPod, iPhone, and iTunes gets ever more complicated with apps, photo and video sharing, and iTunes 9 management options, one thing still remains clear: syncing with a computer, be it desktop or laptop, is still a pain in the butt. But sharing content between computers authorized under a shared iTunes account has just gotten a little easier.
Buried in Apple's press conference amid iPod and iTunes news was an announcement of Home Sharing, a service that will make transferring music and movies between the five computers that your content a simpler matter than it's ever been. Although Apple didn't demonstrate this feature extensively during the keynote, we hope it works as well as it sounds like it does. While enabling easier use of purchased content is a welcome idea, here's a better one: why not finally allow a user to create a home media server that all their computers and wireless devices can access seamlessly over Wi-Fi from anywhere in the world?
Such technology already exists via third-party software and hardware, but none of them work as easily as Apple's baked-in software. Services such as Spotify begin to tackle the problem via the cloud, but replicating existing technology has never stopped Apple before (see Time Capsule, for instance). But a media server is still a great idea for them to get behind...if only they would. We've been waiting since 2008, but news has gone dim on the server front.
If authorization is the concern, Apple can still restrict its server software to five machines. But freeing the iDevice from its slave computer is the true end goal, and the only way to get there is with a server.
Apple's Time Capsule and Apple TV have begun to explore elements of such a device, but neither allow seamless consolidation and storage access for media in the way that's truly needed. The Apple TV is a closed box and has limited storage space compared to the Time Capsule, but the Time Capsule doesn't have any media-sharing server software, making streaming content off it quite difficult, and certainly not seamless. Of course, there is the Mac Mini, which some say is Apple's missing media server. The problem is that the Mini isn't as single-purpose as a server could be...and its included storage capacity isn't server-size.
An Apple Media Box is the missing link, and would conceivably sell like hotcakes. So, where is it? And why did we spend all day watching demos of Nanos with cameras and FM radios instead?
(Credit:
Digital Living Network Alliance)
Q: I've finally decided to buy a HDTV, and I was just wondering what your input on DLNA was. Do you know of any good models out there that support this feature (that also allow access to several media servers)? Or should I wait until DLNA becomes more standard in HDTVs? -- Chris, via e-mail.
A: Hi Chris. We've covered in detail what exactly the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) is all about before, and reviewed several models (as mentioned below) that support the specification. As for access to several media servers--most DLNA-certified clients (including all the certified HDTVs we reviewed this year) support several media servers at once. You will have to switch between them of course, but it's never been a issue with performance in our experience. The short answer to your other question, however, is DLNA is still in its infancy for being adopted by TV manufacturers. 2008 has been the year where it was introduced and perhaps 2009 will be the year that its more commonplace in HDTVs. As of now, you can expect to pay a hefty premium for the technology, as much as $500 above the average price of a HDTV. Then you have to consider the television's interoperability issues.
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(Credit:
Geeks.com)
Step into the Wayback Machine and check out this refurbished Compaq EVO D51S desktop. It's decently equipped: 2GHz Pentium 4 processor, 512MB of RAM, 40GB hard drive, DVD-ROM drive, and Windows XP Home. It even has a floppy drive! Geeks.com price: $99.99.
You'll have to supply the monitor, mouse, and keyboard, and you'll have to live with a case that has a few dings and scratches. (Read the full product description: This is definitely a "used" PC.)
Even so, this could be an ideal machine for young kids, tween/teen students, or a grandma who just wants e-mail. You could also turn it into a media server for your home network (though you'll probably want to add a larger hard drive). Not a bad deal at all for 100 smackers.
Adobe Systems on Tuesday is expected to announce that it will dramatically cut the price of its server software for streaming video over the Web.
Flash Media Server 3, which is set for release in January, will now come in two versions. Flash Media Streaming Server will cost $995, and Flash Media Interactive Server will cost $4,500.
With the current version, Adobe sells its Media Server for between $4,500 and $45,000.
The company is lowering prices in response to customer requests, said Kevin Towes, product manager for Adobe Media Server. "What we've been hearing is that the cost of streaming video over progressive download is the barrier," he said.
The new server is also designed to cut the cost of deploying streaming video with the ability to better utilize a server's network card, he said. A typical media server with a 1-gigabit network card could serve about 2,000 people.
Also on Tuesday, Adobe is scheduled to release a version of its Flash Player that supports the high-definition video standard H.264.
Although Flash is widely used on the Internet for streaming video, it is facing growing competition from Microsoft and its Silverlight plug-in, which is going after the same digital media market.
(Credit:
Zyxel)
Zyxel's new NSA-220 NAS drive plus media server offers two empty drive bays so that you can bring your own SATA drives, up to 1.5TB. The drives can be arranged in a RAID-0 or RAID-1 array, and the included Memeo software lets you set up autobackup of your data. Two USB ports let you connect additional hard drives or thumbdrives, and a "copy" button allows you to quickly duplicate the contents of an external drive (or an MP3 player or digital camera) to the NAS-220 without touching your PC.
Aside from acting as a repository for your data and multimedia files, the NAS-220 serves up your entertainment content to your home entertainment system via its built-in DLNA server. Because it's DLNA certified, it plays nicely with other DLNA devices, including Zyxel's own digital media adapter, the DMA-1000.
The NSA-220 will be available in the first quarter for $250.
At CES 2007, HP announced its MediaSmart server, a centralized media and data storage and server solution for the home. It has four drive bays and the unit will ship with only one or two SATA drives, allowing you to fill the remaining bays with your choice of SATA I or II drives. Additionally, it sports four USB 2.0 ports so you can add USB hard drives for expanded capacity. The total supported capacity is 6TB. You can also use the USB ports and built-in print server to network up to four USB printers. A Gigabit Ethernet port lets you push content back and forth quickly.
The centralized repository lets you back up all the PCs on your network and restore lost or corrupt files or a PC. The server organizes your files by file type, so you can see all of the photos from all of your home PCs without having to search each PC individually. On the flip side, you can push content to your home entertainment system or access files on one PC from another.
The MediaSmart server also lets you or others access your files remotely. If you want to share photos with family or friends, you can use HP Photo Webshare. Simply select the folder you want to share, enter the email addresses of those with whom you want to share, and they'll receive an email with a link back to your MediaSmart server. While this option is great, we prefer the way Maxtor implemented the share feature on its Maxtor Fusion drive. Maxtor's drive lets you choose particular photos within a folder and the addressee will only be able to see those photos. With HP's product, once you invite someone to see a photo in a folder, that person can see all the contents of that folder. You'll have to create a new folder for each person if you don't want everyone to have access to the same content.
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